How To Accomplish More While Working Less

Chris Alarcon
Aug 27, 2017 · 4 min read

You’re tired of feeling frustrated working long hours for the same paycheck, and more stress. The old saying-Hard work pays off, all of a sudden isn’t cutting out to be what it claims. Sadly you’ve been on the sideline watching others get paid more for what feels like less work.

If you’re on the edge of losing hope that your hard work will never be recompensed, think again because there’s a smarter way to hustle hard. Hard work does pay off but only when you’re working on the right tasks. It’s no wonder why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

A key difference between the wealthy and the poor isn’t the money they have, but what each one does in their free time. The good news is that success habits from the wealthy can be learned, but only by working on tasks with the largest impact.

By impact, I’m referring to tasks that help you make more money. No, it’s not always the Benjamins, but it’s important to understand the potential of your tasks to make mindful choices. If you choose to work on a task that generates less money it should be after understanding the different possibilities.

Why Working Smarter Beats Working Harder

Only because you feel productive doesn’t make a task productive. Similarly, only because you work harder doesn’t mean that you will get paid more. Sometimes prestige or being uneducated causes us to fall victims with working on tasks that are making the least impact.

For example, take an author who aspires to write a best seller book. The earning potential and the fame make it seem like the obvious choice to make. Depending on the author’s knowledge of the publishing process, and his intentions for the lifestyle he’s trying to achieve he may be working harder to achieve his goal.

In The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley, the author explains the rock-and-roll dilemma. A scenario where a young kid wants to become a recording artist who is capable of receiving a $2 million deal with a producer. If we factor ROT (Return on your time), the one who ends up winning is the producer.

The artist in the previous scenario is able to generate $2 million only after working 3000 hours. On the other hand, the producer receives 15% commission or $450,000 after working 100 hours. To put it in a different perspective the artist is earning $850 an hour while the producer is earning $4500 an hour!

If the agent were to work the same 3000 hours he would make $13.5 million or 5 times more than the artist. Who do you think is working smarter?

It’s not always about the money, but you should evaluate each goal or task to ensure that it aligns with your intended outcome. It’s easy to fall trap into the mentality that if one works hard they will make more money. In the previous scenario, you can see that even if you make millions it doesn’t always mean that your working smarter.

Here are some questions that you should ask yourself while working towards your goal(s):
1. What’s my ROT (return on time) with this task?
2. How can I work less on this task while still producing the same results or better?
3. Does this task align with the lifestyle I want to create?
4. BONUS: Will this task help me reach financial independence faster?

Maximize Your Revenue Potential

The next time you decide to work hard on something remind yourself about the -rock-and-roll dilemma. Ask yourself if the tasks you’re currently working on are aligned with your ultimate goal. It’s not always about the money, but you should be maximizing your time to work on tasks that will ultimately help you reach financial independence as quickly as possible.

From this point on you don’t have to be envious of others who make $100,000+ annually while only working 20 hours per week. Working hard does pay off, but only when you work on the tasks that make the most impact. If these tasks maximize your revenue potential that’s great, and if not at least you’re mindfully prioritizing your tasks.

Maybe you’ll need to start as an artist similar to the one from the rock-and-roll dilemma to eventually become a producer. It all boils down to what your ultimate goals in life are.

You now have a different approach to get things done. Just ask yourself the 4 questions mentioned earlier, and begin making mindful choices in the tasks you choose to work on. I’m confident that you’ll reach your financial goals faster now.

Thanks for reading.

Chris’s passion for writing is to inspire other working Millennials to reach financial happiness. Grab his FREE 5 Essential Money Management Strategies Checklist.

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Chris Alarcon

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Writer, Podcaster. Visit my website and sign up for my newsletter for more articles on becoming financially well off.

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